Chepito
Chepito is a barnacle-covered resident of the Sea of Lament first encountered during Year Three. Due to the circumstances of his death, Chepito prefers to avoid boats and is seen walking along the bottom of the ocean on his way to the Ninth Underworld. Background In life, Chepito worked as a sailor. However, faulty equipment lead his boat astray and lost for weeks. The accident left him and the rest of his crew with no food and no shelter from the sun. One by one, the sailors died and their bodies were dumped into the sea until only Chepito and an unnamed comrade remained, but this complicated their situation by attracting sharks to the boat. He later claims to have learned three lessons from the ordeal: "Stay away from boats. When it comes to navigation, trust only the moon and the stars. And when there’s only two of you left, never ever go to sleep." Once in the Land of the Dead, Chepito found his way to Rubacava. But after spending an extended amount of time waiting for a boat, he decides that walking the way would be quicker and begins his voyage. Role in Year 3 Manny and Glottis first encounter Chepito after the SS Lola sinks to the bottom of the Sea of Lament. It is unclear how long he has been walking by then, but he claims that it has been "years" and enough time had passed for his bones to change color to a blue tinge and for barnacles to attach themselves to his eyebrows. By this time, Chepito had been to the Edge of the World, where he found a piece of luminous coral that he kept in a lantern that had since become attached to him. He tells Manny that he keeps his bearings by walking with "the moon" to his right. However, it soon becomes clear that not only was he keeping the "moon" to his left, but that the light was actually emanating from a large gem simply known as "The Pearl", which lead him around in circles. After following this routine for so long, Chepito had grow accustomed both to sea monsters and to walking endlessly, which he justified by claiming that it was "a big ocean". After figuring this out, Manny and Glottis use his lantern to keep sea monsters at bay and travel to the location of The Pearl, discovering a large octopus that kidnapped all those that fell from the boats and locked them inside a submarine. Now convinced that he was going to be rich, Chepito insisted on following the duo around, attracting the attention of the creature. Manny eventually manages to shake him off when more barnacles attach to him and the ensuing struggle lured the octopus to his location. Chepito is next seen working at Domino Hurley's coral mine in the Edge of the World, struggling after exchanging some of the booty that he had collected for a Bust-All chisel, which he later gives Manny in exchange for a tiny hammer. Chepito's final role during this year is to trade a Sproutella gun for Mercedes "Meche" Colomar's hosiery. After Year 3 Chepito is later encountered in the lobby of the Ninth Underworld's entrance. Paradoxically, he managed to reach the location first despite being last seen working in the mines and not having a mode of transport faster than the SS Lamancha (or the dog sled) used by Manny and the rest of the group. Here Chepito is seen walking in circles around a small pool trying to make up for the years lost wandering the bottom of the ocean in order to "even out" his life before getting ready to depart. He is last seen walking down the entrance to the Ninth Underworld and disappearing while singing his characteristic song. After bidding him farewell, Manny baptizes the fountain after him due to the oily residue that was left behind. Trivia The director's commentary for the Remastered Edition revealed that Chepito's character was inspired by the diving scenes featured in the 1995 film The City of Lost Children. Category:Character